Joes staying late at the park

ST. JOSEPH — St. Joseph Joes manager Pat Schneider readily admits he has no clue about social media.

A retired teacher and lifelong baseball nut, it's simply not in his wheelhouse.

However, much to his amusement, Schneider went viral recently — at least in the amateur baseball world.

Schneider, in a podcast, was quoted as saying: "To have a successful team, you have players who stick around after the game and talk baseball."

The quote was passed along in the Twitter world all week.

After being assured the retweets and comments were all positive, Schneider was content.

"It's a social event," the Minnesota Amateur Baseball Hall of Famer said. "The baseball game is one thing. But the game gets more fun if you can extend it beyond the game. While you're packing that duffel bag, if you talk about it an extra 10 minutes, it really helps you sort things out."

The Joes must be spending some time talking this season. They're back in the state tournament and playing the Blue Earth Pirates in the 93rd annual state Class C tournament. St. Joseph plays at noon Sunday in Hutchinson.

The Joes' game is followed by the Cold Spring Rockies facing the Pelican Rapids Lakers.

The Times' area has 12 Class C teams and two Class B teams competing this weekend in the tournament, which is in Dassel, Hutchinson and Litchfield.

St. Joseph is back in the state tournament for the first time since 2010. They wound up in second place in Region 1C behind the Sartell Muskies to earn one of the region's three state berths. The Foley Lumberjacks got the third berth, giving the Sauk Valley League a sweep in the region that also features Eastern Minny League teams.

The Joes have a good, young nucleus that indeed does like talking ball when the game is over.

"You don't always get a real feel for what has transpired on the field unless you talk about it," Schneider said. "Everyone sees things a little differently.

"I know that, as an official in (high school) wrestling, when you have a partner and you're driving home from a match, you can talk about what happened and get some insight that you don't get by yourself."

Schneider says he knows little about the Blue Earth Pirates, who the Joes meet in Sunday's first round of the 48-team, single-elimination Class C tournament.

"I remember playing them the last time the tournament was in Hutchinson, but that was a long time ago," Schneider said. (It was 2005.)

He said he hopes this year's team is the start of a rejuvenation for St. Joseph baseball. The Saints are making their 20th state appearance since 1940. Their other state appearances were in: 1946, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010.

"I think this is the beginning of maybe something to come to our program," Schneider said. "Getting there gives guys experience.

"Several of the guys have never been to something like that. This will be the start of something new."

St. Joseph is doing it up. There's a fan bus heading to the game. T-shirts have been printed. Schneider hopes it's a big deal, with more to come.

"If we win, we play Elrosa and that should be a lot of fun," Schneider said of the Region 15C champion.

This is the opinion of Times prep sports coordinator Tom Elliott. Contact him at 259-3661 or at telliott@stcloudtimes.com. Follow him on Facebook or on Twitter @sctimesotm.